UWL ROTC teams compete in 20-mile warfare challenge

Fourteen teams from across Midwest came to La Crosse

LA CROSSE, Wis. (WKBT) — More than a dozen ROTC teams from around the Midwest put their winter survival skills to the test Saturday in La Crosse.

The Northern Warfare Challenge is a 20-mile ruck march. Fourteen ROTC teams of five filled their backpacks with roughly 50 pounds of gear and competed against one another as they walk or run 20 miles through the cold and snow.

It is an extremely taxing competition, but the cadets said it was worth it in the end.

It began at the National Guard Armory in Onalaska. But before the Northern Warfare Challenge was over, the 70 cadets were put to the test both physically and mentally.

“We’ve been training a long time for this,” University of Wisconsin-La Crosse ROTC cadet Alistair Keys said.

“I think we’re out here to learn, to better ourselves, to make ourselves better leaders, better officers and have fun too,” University of Missouri Science and Technology ROTC cadet Heather McCoy said.

It’s probably hard for most to imagine the challenge as being fun. The 20-mile race went through the snow, sometimes on pavement, sometimes not, and a majority of it was uphill. The halfway point was at the top of Grandad Bluff.

“You have to get over that mental block to force your legs to keep going and finish the challenge,” McCoy said.

During the competition the cadets performed challenges related to surviving in a cold, northern climate.